It’s Friday, which like elsewhere in the world means the weekend for Strongheart, although since we all live in the same house, it only means a slightly different schedule/routine. For the Fellows and I it means looking forward to a field trip tomorrow – we’re heading out to Tala, a place where the US had a military base during WWII. The US was quite interested in Liberia at the time - for the export of rubber for war time production efforts and as a place from which to launch military forays into North Africa. Things have generally been quite busy here at Strongheart. Since last weekend, where I was surprised by my DC house-mate Sarah Day and enjoyed a fun weekend of relaxing and catching up, the Fellows have written their first drafts of their five page papers as well as practiced designing an interview. Not to mention moved a truck load of black dirt and transplanted the seedlings from the nursery, painted a blackboard, and performed some community service – both in front of our house as well as by the high school.
I’ve been thinking a lot about love and healing. As concepts they are beautiful, inspirational, and very, very good. In reality they are messy, complex, and still very, very good. Yet how much we all need both in our lives, even when we had happy, stable childhoods. I realized that I had become so preoccupied with the things that needed to happen here – the learning circle schedule! The expense report! – that I had lost sight of the people that I came to love and help. As I took the time to tell each one personally that I loved them, I felt my stress level melting away, I was able to receive their love back myself. How grateful I am for the depths of the Father’s love, that no matter how self-absorbed, trite, or weak we are – we can trust His faithfulness, the consistency of His love towards us. Quiet confidence: I can rest in that love, and then help pour out healing for the nations.
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